The most fantastic day!

Despite not having our older two sons with us, I have had the most fantastic day with my younger two and my husband! This morning my DH surprised me with an outing. Having felt unwell, I was not moving fast enough to get to church. So, DH used that as an opportunity to take me and the two boys out for the day.

We started with a trip to the mall. Mr. Rebel needed new jeans and is in between sizes (and clothing departments...boys' section to men's section). Shopping for him is an adventure. We finally found a few pairs at Old Navy that were on clearance (thank goodness!!!) for $16.99 a pair. that is comparable to what I would have paid at KMart or WalMart (yes, I checked). He will have growing room but they fit him well enough to keep him from getting picked on.

After finding the pants, DH took me to my portion of the trip. A previously closed section of the mall has been reopened to house a CRAFT2000!!! Oh, happy day! Til today, I had never been in one of them. It is one of the most fabulous stores I have ever been in. I didn't explore even half the store. I did zero in on the yarn, though. Lovely aisles. Lovely. I brought home three one-pound bags of cotton mill ends. Each bag is one shade, which is not always the case.

So, after that we left the mall. DH decided it was time to eat (it really was) and so off we went. Following lunch, which was fabulous, we went to Cabela's. Since DH and I are taking the boys camping next year, he and I wanted to get a tri-legged cast iron dutch oven for cooking. I wanted it early so I can practice on how NOT to burn dinner! After doing the general looking around that we always do, we looked specifically for the 10-inch 6-qt dutch oven we wanted. It was nowhere! The product-finder kiosk stated that there was one in the store. Um, nope. So, while he went to look at knives with the boys, I went to customer service. I absolutely LOVE our Cabela's customer service desk. I don't know about other stores, but our store has a great customer service desk. They helped me locate one at the distribution center (basically right across the street) and we had fun laughing our way through finding it. DH was thrilled when I gave him the piece of paper and even more so when I actually put it in the van after picking it up from the distribution center.

After that we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked up a knife magnet for the kitchen so that we can get our knives out of the utensil container (bad for knives! and for parents of a student chef). Dh will put it up tomorrow. Then, we stopped at a place that DH said I can cross off my Bucket List ---- Cold Stone Creamery! Fabulous! Then we came home and had dinner. Yeah, we had dessert first. It was fun though.

The whole day was fun! We spent a wonderful day with the two boys, enjoyed the sun (much of our visit to Cabela's was actually outside looking at tents and watching them carve logs with chainsaws), and visited with each other. Even with everything we did, we still got home in time for the boys to shower and be in bed ON TIME! Lol! Yep, they went to bed about 20 minutes ago! That even includes a phone call to Pittsburgh because the boys were missing their older brother. Tomorrow, they will be calling their oldest brother. Thank you, God, for giving us a full day of family and still keeping us on schedule. Today was such a blessing.

Ugh.

A two-day migraine, this time. Three pills in total. I was beginning to wonder if the pills were actual medication or just powder. Eventually, the pain did recede but not before it completely messed up my plans for Friday evening.

For three weeks in a row, I have been unable to attend the "knit nights" at our yarn shop with Mom and Tater (my niece). Hopefully, next week is a different story. I really liked getting together with so many different people and just visiting.

I have finished several baby blankets in the diagonal dishcloth pattern. I try different patterns all the time but rip them out and go back to my dishcloth pattern. It works for me. Mom says that she did the same thing. She would start a pretty pattern and then rip it out and do a basic. After having some time to think on it, the basic pattern blankets are great because the pretty ones don't get used all the time. Those are the "good" blankets. The garter stitch blankets (mine are usually made from cotton) tend to be the ones the babies can grow with and drag behind them all through the house. That works for me.

I am currently working on a new blanket in the dishcloth pattern with Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn in Lemon Custard. One of the girls my two oldest went to school with is getting married and just found out she is expecting (good timing). She is doing the nursery in a John Deere theme (she's a farm girl to the core!!!) so I figure the light yellow will work. I will make another one in a cotton variegated to give her a basic go-to blanket. You can never have too many blankets when you have babies.

An interesting evening with next-day issues

Yesterday, the two boys had there first day of the new school year. They were so excited to fill me in on everything they got to do. They both love their teachers and think they will have a great year. I checked their bags, signed assignment books, and read supply lists. Our state mandates that all student supplies are strictly optional. Meaning, no parents HAVE to supply school supplies. That is what our taxes are for. It's public school and we already pay for it, so they don't "require" us to send school supplies. However, the teachers send home lists of things that we could send to school for our child's personal us and for classroom use if we want. So, we do. Mr. Rebel only needed a few things this year as his teacher was fully prepared for the year, even down to the folders the kids are going to be receiving in a few days that will hold their work-in-progress and take-home papers. Mr. Pirate took several more things than that. With DH and I expecting to send a ton of supplies with both, the few things we did send came as a surprise and a blessing.

So, I took the kids to the store to pick up the few things I didn't have in my school supplies storage bins. DH met us there and we did a little more shopping for the house. After getting home, we started dinner and I started working with Mr. Pirate on his homework...and then the transformer down the road blew up. Oh...joy. Blessings of blessings, I had already sent Mr. Rebel to the showers (early, I know but I wanted it done), so he was just finishing when we lost power. Dinner for Dh and Mr. Rebel was to be prepared in the oven and I already had it on. Thank goodness for gas ovens! So, those two shared their food with Mr. Pirate and me. We ate outside on the patio and had a great time visiting and talking about the day.

When the transformer blew, I had called the electric company to report the outage. While on the phone with them, the fire trucks could be heard arriving down the road. The electric company said they hadn't received any calls from the fire department as of yet but they documented everything. A little later, they called back saying that no one else called with a power outage report so I walked around to my neighbors (who had no power) and they all called the electric company. They were told it would be about 10:30pm until someone could get there. It was 7:15pm. Oh, well. It happens. We got lucky, though. A guy had been in the area and opted for the call. We had power back before 9:30pm.

So, the other interesting thing. Yesterday, I had to each lunch by myself. So, Dh told me to help myself to stuff we bought for his lunches because he bought too much and didn't want it to go to waste. So, I did. So, in conjunction with what I ended up eating for dinner last night, I gave myself a migraine. Dana, you will be happy to hear that I can add processed meats (lunch meat and meat topping on heat-and-serve pizzas) to my "DO NOT EAT!!!!" list. Lol! The base of my skull hurts so bad right now. The right side of my face is a combination of numb and itchy. Nice. Next time I will just stick with my routine.

A few firsts...

My two younger boys (Mr. Rebel on the left and Mr. Pirate on the right) got up bright and early this morning. Today was their first day of the 2009-2010 school year. It is also the first year that they go to school by themselves. Previously, they have had one or two older brothers with them. Not this year. Mr. Magic Hands (yes, that's the oldest...the Massage Therapist) and Mr. Chef (the second oldest...and his moniker is self-explanatory) are both off exploring the world in their own way, though they do manage to find home every once in a while. We do enjoy that.

*sigh* Those two look so much like their dad...

This was another first for me. An ORANGE SKY! Yes, that is true-to-life color. I double checked and triple checked. The sky was ORANGE! We had a pretty serious storm roll through one evening. The sky started to go green (bad bad bad) but then apparently changed its mind and we got the most beautiful "orange push-up" color! The sun had not yet set on the other end of the weather system and the light was bouncing off all the moisture. It was beautiful! 20 minutes later we had white clouds, blue skies and a gorgeous sunset. Nature is so fascinating!

Just a small vent

So, during the course of your day you get on the internet to check your email. You surf a few websites, read a few articles. In that time you see (and probably ignore) those moving ads for car insurance. The other new thing is the deluge of ads that proclaim Obama asks Moms to go back to school. Great idea! I think it is wonderful that there are programs to encourage Moms to go back to college...oh, wait...there's a catch.

99% of all scholarships and grants available for 'Mom' and her family's need for her to return to college are for SINGLE MOMS! Yep. I would have to divorce my husband to get the funding needed to go back to school to better my chances on getting a job that would pay more than my daycare bill.

I married young. I had children young. I have raised two boys that God blessed me with the day I said "I Do". I have two more boys that I was blessed with that are in grade school. I have limited employment history but 11 years of managing a house hold, managing schedules, and raising children. I have learned many things over the years through use of the internet and use of basic application and reading. My life experience adds up to more education than that of a 20 year old with a little piece of paper saying "I'm smart!". And yet, that little piece of paper gets them the job and me a rejection letter.

So, here's a tip. If you are a mom and want to go back to school, the government apparently would love to give you money...if you aren't married! If you have spent any amount of time being a SAHM, raising your kids, sacrificing your dreams, and listening to people talk down to you because you lack a certain little piece of paper, well, you are poop-out-of-luck.

An ending...

Have you ever had that one teacher that has such an impact on your life that you think of them almost every day? That you actually call them just to say hi and check on them? Yeah, that teacher...

Yesterday, I lost that teacher. Mr. Rose. My band director for the first two years of high school. He was the type of man that you either loved or hated within 2 minutes of meeting him. He smoked (in the band room), he drank (we all knew it was in his coffee...in the band room), he swore to make a sailor blush (in the band room, the practice field, football games, etc), and he cared for each and every one of his students whether they liked him or not. He would gives his last few dollars in his pocket just to make sure his kids had reeds, oil, a registration fee. He was as coarse and crude and politically incorrect as possible. And we loved him.

My junior year, I auditioned for Field Commander/Drum Major. All the students that auditioned made up the "company" that followed commands given by the one currently in front of the judges. So many did well. Me? I ran the company into the gym wall! God bless him, Mr. Rose laughed so hard he had to sit down! Lol! Mr. D (assistant director) wasn't much better. *chuckle* Needless to say, I didn't get it. Not that year. My senior year, yeah. I got it. The sad thing about it was Mr. Rose had retired at the end of my junior year so he wasn't there to share it with. I did call him, though. The first thing he asked when I told him I auditioned again was if I ran the company into the wall! Lol! He was thrilled that I got it. I told him I spent my entire summer practicing with my SIL, Pam. I could hear the smile in his voice about that.

He loved Pammy. She was his go-to girl in the percussion section. Anything he needed from the percussion, she gave it ten-fold. She would also argue with him. Toe to toe, those two would go at it. She never backed down from him even when he threated her grade. If it was worth it, she argued. Ahh, he loved their fights. You could see it.

Mr. Rose was a perfect mix of grandpa and old geezer.

There are so many memories I could share but I think I will sit back and enjoy them for now.

For Family

Since my mom hasn't updated her blog since the WV Birthday weekend, I will try and fill family in on what is happening.

Grandma was supposed to have cataract surgery on August 18. Last week, at her check-up appointment before surgery, the doctor found a membrane containing fluid behind her eye. It isn't supposed to be there. So, he cancelled the surgery and scheduled an appointment for her to see a specialist in Pittsburgh on August 14, tomorrow.

Grandma is very nervous and anxious about it. She was hoping to be done with all the surgeries before Emily's birthday. Now, we don't know what is happening.

Mom has become something of a knitting whisperer! Lol! She has a group of ladies in a small community south of our town that have come together as a Prayer Shawl group. Another group has started at our church that meets every week with Mom. We also have a new yarn shop in town! She has just started, so she carries the basics and a few specialty yarns but is building her stock based on what her customers are looking for instead of stocking everything and stuff not selling. The shop hosted a Knit til You Drop night a few weeks ago and it turned into a weekly meeting. I missed last Friday's Knit Night because of feeling ill from a migraine that lasted three days. However, I am praying very hard to be able to make it tomorrow night!

Since Mom will be in Pittsburgh with Grandma and Grandpap all day, she has asked that I take Tater, my niece. Mom taught Tater to knit just over a month ago (she picked it up immediately!). Tater has been going with mom to all her Prayer Shawl meetings in the small community south of us and has attended Knit Night the last two weeks. Mom doesn't want her to miss tomorrow's Knit Night just because she is exhausted from the day in Pittsburgh. So, I am hoping, praying, that God gives me a pass for tomorrow evening so I can take her. Oh, that reminds me. I have to fix something to take with me.

Yes, I know...another post

Just a quick note before bed.

Dh and I have been working on the home for the last few weeks. I have managed to get 90% of the place cleaned and organized. Our bedroom, which as most parents know is really just another storage room for things the kids leave laying around the house and ends up tossed in Mom and Dad's room, is still on the To-Do list. The older boys' room, which is now the smaller bedroom, is also on the list. I have a lot of stuff that needs stored or sold in a yard sale, so it will take some work for that to be done since my storage building is bursting at the seams right now.

The biggest thing at this point is DH's handiness around the home. Living in a mobile home means we live in a metal box that heats up horribly during any type of sunny, somewhat humid weather. It also means we don't have a screen door paired with our back door. So, DH got creative and bought the items needed to make a full sized screen to put over the opening when the door is open. Yes, we have to remove it every night but I love the fact I can just prop open the door, slide the screen in place and put a fan at the back door to draw air through the rest of my home.

Today, DH took the old A/C unit out of our bedroom window, along with the plexiglass and fit a new screen for the window. I can honestly say that I hate silicone caulking. I now also need new blades for my utility knife. Luckily, DH keeps a supply on hand because he goes through so many for work. It took me almost an hour to remove all the caulking. And to go outside and scoop up all the cat poop that was in my yard and stinking to high heavens. Funny, though. I DON'T OWN A CAT! However, all my neighbors who DO own cats think it's great that it's MY YARD and MY GARDEN that gets used as a litter box. *sigh* Yes, I am venting. Yes, I am done.

So, tomorrow, DH and I are going to remove the old A/C unit from the front bedroom where the two younger boys are. He is going to fit it for a new screen and hopefully get a nice bit of airflow through the house. I am pretty excited. We have been here for over 7 years and I still feel like I am just moving in. Hmm.

On a side note, the screen fabric Dh picked up is great! It is UV protectant grade and is very dark which gives a large amount of privacy. Especially with us having the back door completely open.

So, I have rambled again. I can feel myself slipping into "slap happy" stage. It's time to say goodnight.

Have a laugh...

Dh and I aren't big on alcoholic beverages. Me because can't hold my liquor and DH because he just isn't interested. Granted, he will have a drink every once in a while (more like two or three times a YEAR) but that's it. With me, well, I can't have more than 4 oz. without getting drunk. Me being drunk involves a pillow, a blanket, possibly some snoring and a horrendous headache in the morning. And that is off 4 oz of alcohol. Just so you get the idea, that's 1/3 of a regular can of beer! It actually makes me sad. I love wines and miss being able to sit down after the kids are in bed and having a glass. Oh, well. We still have a use for the wine rack on the baker's stand in the kitchen! Lol!

Ah, relief

The last week or so has been so humid, muggy, stifling, whatever you wish to call it. It's been just downright hot. DH and I have had to be creative to keep the kids cool enough. We made the decision in early spring that we were NOT turning on the window A/C units. One - we don't have the money to spend on frivolous electricity use; Two - we like having the house open and aired out (despite the plumes of cigarette smoke that occasionally float in from the neighbors - the kids and I learn to just turn the fans around); Three - It's easier for the kids to come and go while they play if they don't have to constantly worry about letting the cold air out.

So, we have 7 fans going. Yes, seven (7), and my electric bill is still lower than last summer's bill when I did use the window units. I actually scored a great deal (for me, anyway) the other day. On Monday, we only had 6 fans in the house and the weekend's weather was just too much for me without another airmover. I packed up the kids and went to the store. Of the three big fans we have, two of them are fabulous high velocity fans. The third is just a bit better than a regular box fan. Anyway, I was off to buy another of the high velocity fans which are normally priced at $40. I hated having to spend that much money but DH and I talked about it and decided that it was a good purchase. The fans have been put through the ringer and are still working like they did the day they were taken out of the box. So, I bit my lip and went to the store.

Surprise! Surprise! They had them marked down to $32! Sure, it's only $8 but that's money I can use for my family on something else we need. Yay!

The relief we have been given is lower temperatures outside. We even got desperately-needed rain yesterday. Thank the good Lord for that.

Empty the cupboards...

Well, that is what I am doing. I am emptying my cupboards. By baking. I have so many mixes and ingredients for things. I know some of them are in danger of due-date demise so I am on a baking spree. Yesterday, I baked a devil's food cake in two bread pans.

While it cooled, DH and I went to Kroger's. Milk was on sale for $0.79 a half-gallon! We picked up 2 gallon's worth! After paying almost $4.00 a gallon, coming in around $1.60 for a gallon is a treasure! So, I called Grandpap and Grandma to check on their milk status and picked up a few half-gallons for them. We also picked up 3 gallon's worth of Kroger orange juice, as it is good til almost the end of the month. I love orange juice but it can be almost as expensive as milk, so I have not been getting any for a very long time. Having it is such a treat for all of us!

We picked up a few other items and returned home. After dinner, DH and I prepared dessert! I took the cake loaves out of the pans, placing them on a cutting board. DH got out the box of ice cream, cool whip, and marachino cherries. I opened the small tub of vanilla bean ice cream that had been left to soften (melt, really) on the counter. Then, we assembled! Pour a little bit of melted ice cream in the bottom of a bowl, a slice of cake, half a slice of ice cream from the box, a slice of cake, fudge sauce (melted in microwave per label's instructions), cool whip, cherry. Add a spoon. Give it to a child. Repeat til you get yours. Lick the spoon from the fudge sauce. Enjoy. *sigh* Nice.

Tonight, I made a Cranberry Quick Bread with Orange Peel. Delicious.

All of this has been enjoyable, if somewhat exhausting. I have had an awful migraine for the last two days. It peaked at a level 10 today, an hour after I took my medication. I am drained and sore. My teeth and gums hurt from the swelling and the right side of my neck at the base of my skull hurts greatly.

I had an MRI last week and the results were clean. Part of me is thrilled that there were no findings but another part of me is disappointed. I KNOW something is wrong. I can FEEL that something is wrong. Yet, NOTHING is there. Helpless. That is what I feel right now. So, I will empty my cupboards. I will bake. And probably gain 20lbs or get so sick of looking at sweets that I will lose 20lbs.

Anyway, another ramble.

The last week

Has been so incredibly busy. Massive amounts of cleaning and rearranging has happened. I have cleaned and rearranged my living room bit. My kitchen has been cleaned and sorted. My bathroom got cleaned/sterilized very well today. DH has been a blessing and helped me stay caught up on laundry.

The front half of my large metal storage building is pretty well dedicated to Yard Sale stuff. I am hoping to have one in the next few weeks or just after school starts at the end of the month. I still have my bedroom to go through and my closet. Oh, and DH's wooden storage building needs gone through but he has to be here for that.

While I was scrubbing the bathtub today, crouched in an awkward position, something went crunch and rip in my left knee. Even though I was still able to walk around and finish the bathroom, it hurts like the dickens! I put my trusty knee-brace on to hold myself together and it helped for a while but it still hurts.

Oh, well. The hazards of cleaning.

Speaking of cleaning! If you have a vinyl shower curtain and it has metal grommets, I have an easy cleaning tip! A few, actually.

1. Don't put it in the washer. Personal experience (should have been obvious, I know) says that the metal grommets will put tiny slices in your nice vinyl shower curtain. The one you love. The one that is no longer being sold in any store! Good thing you bought all they had left on clearance...
2. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and hot water. Take down the shower curtain, leaving the bottom inside the tub and drape the rest over the side. Fill the tub with a little hot water and scrub away with the Eraser. Feed the rest of the shower curtain into the tub, scrubbing sections as you go.
3. If you have a removable shower head, just hang the shower curtain back up. Step into the shower, turn on the cold water and, using the shower head, rinse the shower curtain. Easy-peasy! Should take about 5 minutes!

And the best part is that you didn't use any harsh chemicals! I love my Magic Erasers! I can clean without harsh chemicals. When I remember to buy more vinegar, I will be even happier because my windows needs it desperately.

A rare moment in my life...

My men. Completely unedited and spontaneous.

Having all five of them together at one time is such a rare thing anymore. The older two were openly thrilled to have their little brothers around, today. They played frisbie, chased them, took their hats... They love them. It's obvious, no matter how hard they try not to admit it.